With the first round coming to an end this weekend, it is time to take a look at the participants! Who are the favorites? Who might cause a surprise? And who are the serious candidates for the Top 20? I channeled my inner journalist and conducted this comprehensive analysis of the field of participants. Enjoy the read and let me know if I forgot about someone or if I grossly overestimate someones skill.

The Favoritesracehans - Two times winner of the ARC, determined to claim the victory for a third time in a row. With weaknesses on fullspeed, when it comes to speedsliding, but very strong on all the other styles. It will be difficult to surpass him on Dirt, if he gives it his all. Also high up in the field in Tech and RPG. It might come down to the maps of the final mappack, where he ends up.Marius89 - Two times runner-up of the ARC, a very complete driver. With some weaknesses in fullspeed, but able to drive great times in every other style. Rarely the guy for a world record, but often just close enough to it to take the big points home. If the Mini-FS map suits him and he manages to put down a lucky run on the fullspeed, he might grab the victory this year.Mudda - He wants to win this year, and boy has he been close to it in the past. In difference to racehans and Marius, the FS maps are his big strength. And since our last edition, we have seen him improve his skills in the other styles as well. Ultimately, it will come down to how Mudda can perform on the other four styles - because in fullspeed (if anyone) only Harry can challenge him. And I have a feeling that we will see very very strong times by Mudda also in Dirt and Speedtech this year. But can he aim for the very first places in Tech and RPG? Otherwise it will be difficult to gain the upper hand against the other favorites.Harry - If Harry keeps up his motivation, he can burn sick times on every style into the asphalt. With Dirt maybe being his biggest weakness, it will be interesting to see how he keeps up throughout the tournament. He is able to beat Mudda on FS, he is able to drive great times on RPG maps and his tech skills are also nothing to neglect. If he goes for it, he is among the very best allrounders for sure.

The ChallengersSwitch - A favorite? A challenger? It was difficult to decide on the final placement of the Frenchman. One big question to answer will be what Switch can do on RPG. His abilities on fullspeed should put him at least in the Top 5 of that style in every round - with less and less fullspeed pros competing towards the end, he will probably only have Mudda and Harry to challenge here. And on dirt, there are only very few that can challenge his runs. Seeing that his tech skills improved as well over the years, it will be interesting to see how far up he can get in this year's round.wally - If the ARC would not include fullspeed maps, wally would be a strong contender for the win. His tech skills are top notch, this guy can max out a map, if he has the time and motivation. What might keep him from the very top are his fullspeed abilities, but how far will that get him? Top 3? Top 5? Only time will tell..Karjen - It will be almost impossible to beat Karjen on Tech and Speedtech. And his fullspeed skills are also nothing to ignore - as long as no speedslides are involved, making the Mini FS maps a real possibility for him to score some needed points. The Nations Cup has proved many years ago that this guy also has some serious skills on Dirt - leaving just one question: Will he have the time and patience to hunt the RPG map? It will be interesting to see how motivation and time will play out for him. Winning it might be difficult for Karjen, but a Top 5 placement is definitely possible.Karhu - Similar to Karjen and wally, Karhu is a beast on tech, but struggles a bit when it comes to fullspeed. The TMX Driving Academy showed that he can score points across the board, also being able to crank out some really nice times on Dirt, if needed. He surely is a contender for the Top 5 and his online records for the first round show that he is no one to ignore in the fight for the very top.B1ts - In B1ts we have another former winner joining the competition. And that win had its reasons - but how will B1ts manage to hold up while also competing in the Trackmania Grand League in TM2? His skills in tech, dirt, and on the RPG map are to be reckoned with. Time, motivation and the FS maps might be in the way for more, but he can definitely end up in the Top 5, if we are just talking skill.Wirtual - Coming into the competition with a rather different skill set, Wirtual will gain most of his points on RPG and Dirt, with decent skills on tech. If he hunts, he might take home two world records on the aforementioned styles - but how will that level out his shortcomings on Tech and FS? He surely is a candidate for the Top 5, but I am not sure if it can go much further than that.

Given that the motivation stays up for the participants, and everyone has the time to hunt properly, the aforementioned players could be a good bet on forming our Top 10. But who will follow in the Top 20? I reckon that the players below are all candidates for a Top 20 positioning - and some of them might even sneak into the Top 10.

Overall, 59 players submitted replays, meaning that we have to say goodbye to 9 active players and 26 players that did not submit their replays. Congratulations to everyone who made it to the next round

my replay was i think on tmx i guess its not ok ? where should i send my replay next arc tournament i think i guess i have maybe bad read the rule i thought was ok send replay on tmx anyway i think i was probably out anyway because i did i think not so good time also i think my tmx name is legigantesqueelephant not legigantesqueelephant tmx , tmx is the website there is no tmx in my name but its ok i say this because in the full result i see legigantesqueelephant tmx but there is no tmx in my name anyway i think its ok you can write tmx in my name i think i dont care was just saying this for say my real name but its ok maybe i have write tmx when i have register was for say my name on tmx but anyway its ok , and i think was i think a nice tournament even if i think im out of the tournament